SAMARRA — When militant groups in Iraq kidnap those suspected of working with the US-led coalition, what follows is often a long detention, a harrowing trial by kangaroo court and swift execution. Ghaleb Saadun Al Duri, a 37-year-old contractor, is a rare survivor of such an ordeal. He spent two …

TEKOA, West Bank — As a combat soldier in an Israeli army engineers battalion, Avi Bieber had always volunteered for the toughest missions. But when the 19-year-old, US-born corporal was ordered to take part in pre-withdrawal operations in Gaza’s main settlement bloc, he refused, becoming a hero to many Jewish …

BAGHDAD — Issues blocking agraeement on a new constitution are critical to the future of Iraq, and compromise will require more than a little statesmanship among leaders with vastly different visions for the country’s new direction. The chairman of the committee writing the constitution has asked political leaders of the …

PARIS (AFP) — The European Union issued a sharp warning to Iran Tuesday, saying it risked unspecified consequences if it makes good on its threat to resume sensitive nuclear activities in breach of a deal currently under negotiation. “Were Iran to resume currently suspended activities, our negotiations would be brought …

SDEROT, Israel (AFP) — Israel’s settler movement bitterly denounced their old champion Ariel Sharon Tuesday as they gathered in their thousands to protest the imminent implementation of the prime minister’s Gaza pullout plan. “We voted for you, we believed you when you said that [the Gaza settlement] Netzarim was as …

RIYADH (Agencies) — King Fahd was laid to rest in an unmarked desert grave Tuesday after his body, wrapped in a simple brown robe, was borne from a prayer service by his sons. His Majesty King Abdullah, US Vice President Dick Cheney and other world leaders headed to Saudi Arabia …